Making Coasters From Records

NewKidInTown

NewKidInTown

Active Member
I was in the Goodwill today and saw an Allman Bros. pink Capricorn pressing of Fillmore East...unfortunately it is absolutely trashed but I was wondering about making drink coasters out of the labels.

I also have Carly Simon and Cat Stevens(both of which are duplicate copies and very warped)

Has anyone ever done this and if so, what kind of tool is needed to cut the vinyl and make my coasters? I think it would be cool to use these in my bar.
 
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I have a set of coasters a member here made and gave me. Really cool... backed with cork board, then cut.. I think he said they cut them by using some sort of compass type cutter on a drill press.. or spun the LP on the press, and used something else that was stationary and it did the cutting... Either way.. they are cool, and people always comment on them.
 
That's awesome...I would love to have this done although I personally have zero mechanical ability...is being female an excuse:scratch2:

I figured if I knew how it was done and what tools would be involved, I'd give it a shot or see if any friends could help!
 
I wish I could remember the persons name on here... I point you in his direction... I've thought about making some more myself, so haven't experimented with it, so not quite sure how I'd do it myself.
 
It is relatively simple to do. I have done this quite a few times with easy to use tools. The easiest thing to do is get a drill, a 4 1/2" hole saw, a couple of spring clamps, self adhesive cork and a couple of cans of spray polyurethane/lacquer.

Clamp the record to a crap piece of wood and drop the guide bit of the hole saw into the center of the record and drill the hole which will fit perfectly around the record label. Sand the edges of the newly cut label. I cut about 8-12 labels out and then lay them out on a piece of cardboard and spray them with the lacquer all at once. After a few coats of lacquer, I then place a slightly over-sized piece of cork on the bottom of the label and carefully trim the edges of the cork that is sticking out with an exacto knife.

It really is pretty simple and they are a great conversation piece with guests.
 
Great idea! I have about 200 trashed LPs from an LP lot purchase I was wondering what to do with. :scratch2:
Might have to make some Christmas Coaster sets for gifts. I've got plenty of Christmas LPs to choose from in there. :D Hmmmmm...
 
mhilton777 said:
It is relatively simple to do. I have done this quite a few times with easy to use tools. The easiest thing to do is get a drill, a 4 1/2" hole saw, a couple of spring clamps, self adhesive cork and a couple of cans of spray polyurethane/lacquer.

Clamp the record to a crap piece of wood and drop the guide bit of the hole saw into the center of the record and drill the hole which will fit perfectly around the record label. Sand the edges of the newly cut label. I cut about 8-12 labels out and then lay them out on a piece of cardboard and spray them with the lacquer all at once. After a few coats of lacquer, I then place a slightly over-sized piece of cork on the bottom of the label and carefully trim the edges of the cork that is sticking out with an exacto knife.

It really is pretty simple and they are a great conversation piece with guests.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the instructions...it really does sound easy so I'm gonna give it a shot!
 
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I am pleased to report that the album that gave its life to produce the bowl above was by Wham!
 
I started a thread the other day about these bowls.. we're figuring either a press mold, or vac-u-mold..
 
Will the water from the glasses damage the paper label on the coasters ?

Could use a clear coat of some type. Hobby shops likely best place to ask about paper happy clear coatings. The wrong solvent based clear would ruin the paper label, and possibly melt the vinyl.
 
If the idea is to have coaster then lacquer won't work as it is not water impermeable....you would have to use a polyurethane, preferably and outdoor urethane.
 
There are various sites online (and some books in the public library here, and presumably elsewhere) that tell how to make a vacu-forming table. Basically, you have a frame to hold the plastic and a heat source to soften it, and underneath you have a sheet with holes through which a vacuum can be drawn, using a vacuum chamber and pump, or even just a vacuum cleaner. You put the shape you want the item to have on the table (where the vacuum holes are), heat the plastic until it is soft enough, then lower it down on the table (the frames make a good seal), and hit the vacuum switch to draw the softened plastic (or vinyl) down over the mold-shapes and onto the table.

You'd have to make modifications to most of the designs, to accommodate the round shape of the record (most of them are square or rectangular), but otherwise it wouldn't be hard to make.

With this kind of device, you could make records that spelled out the name of your favorite group or audio brand, in raised-relief letters, or a company logo, or any other such idea that occurs to you.



Just please remember, folks, that those old LPs are not being produced any more (except re-releases :D). Make sure the one you use is truly trashed, and not just dirty! RCMs work wonders on dirty records. Even if it's a common title, there may be someone out there who would love to have it, so be SURE you're using a truly worthless snd/or un-salvagable disc before doing this kind of thing to it, please!
 
Rybeam said:
Will the water from the glasses damage the paper label on the coasters ?

Could use a clear coat of some type. Hobby shops likely best place to ask about paper happy clear coatings. The wrong solvent based clear would ruin the paper label, and possibly melt the vinyl.
Click to expand...

The coasters I have have the LP on one side, and cork on the other.. you display them label side out, or up, then flip them over to use them and the cork absorbs the water.
 
Never thought about CD's...another neat idea yet as we know even scratched cd's are still playable so it would be tough for me to part with any. As for vinyl, some records are definitely trashed but have cool labels so it's a nice way to hold on to some nostalgia, and as was mentioned would be a great conversation piece!
 
I used to set a CD on top of a coffee cup in the microwave, then turn on the wave for about 5 seconds or so, just until the CD flashes.. makes for some really cool designs for coasters..
 
All of the coasters i made came out of a box of about 50 records i got from a garage sale that had a bunch of motown and old rat pack albums in it. Many of the albums were cracked or looked like someone had played frisbee with them. It is a great having a bunch of Sinatra, Dean Martin and motown coasters laying around and they make great conversation!
 
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